Polio News

December 2013 - Countries across the Middle East are launching special campaigns to vaccinate 23 million children in response to the polio outbreak in Syria, while cases have tapered off in the Horn of Africa; and progress has continued in the three polio-endemic countries, providing an incredible opportunity to turn off the polio tap at the source. Between them, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan have seen an almost 40% reduction in cases compared to this time last year, and wild poliovirus type 3 hasn’t been spotted anywhere in the world in more than 12 months. As the Polio Oversight Board stated recently: “The upcoming low transmission season (November to April) in countries currently affected by polio transmission will be crucial, and we agreed that endemic country plans could be further refined to capitalize on this unprecedented opportunity.” –